Oxford Applicants 2016 Entry & Interview chat

Anyone else applying for Math?

I have 9 A*s and 1A at GCSE and an A in addition maths (it is AS equivalent so the highest grade attainable was an A)
I am studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics and have finished my ASs today (finally!)
I was hoping of applying to Oxford next year to study Physics and was achieving 90+% in ALL the mock papers I did in physics when all the grader boundaries for an A were under 70% but unfortunately the exam went catastrophically and I just found it so much harder and now am worried I might even end up with a B in my Physics AS, however, my maths will hopefully buoy me up and I reckon I am in with a shout of achieving a couple of modules with a 100% UMS score, I am predicted 3A*s and an A at A-level (with the A in Economics), if I were to get a B in my Physics AS, would I still have any chance of making a succesful application to Oxford Physics?

(P.S. I am taking my STEP 1 exam a year early on Monday, if I were to achieve a grade in that, how much would it benefit my application? (since it is REALLY hard and much beyond any AS or A2 difficulty)
I will also take the PAT (it is a requirement i believe).

Your UMS doesn't make any effect on your Oxford application as they can't see it, only grades for each unit. I'd say wait until results day and see what you actually get before you get hung up on a possible B in Physics. Getting a B in physics certainly wouldn't look great to them as it is clearly a very relevant subject, but it is only 1 of your 5 applications.

(current offer holder for physics so feel free to ask away!)

They do say in the website that if scores are good, UMS points can be included, I think that is to know between the ones who got an A just by a few marks and those who had a strong A. Just saying...

Which college are you going to? Is it the same one where you applied? (just curiosity dont answer if you dont want to)

I'm not sure where exactly you'd include your UMS unless your college added it into the reference - possibly worth asking about if you do end up getting a B and it's only 2 ums off or something and still want to apply. And if you don't include your UMS they can't make any judgements off that so it still doesn't make a difference.
St Hugh's! Yes, although I think the figures for reallocation at some stage are somewhere around 20-30% off the top of my head maybe

I think it is in the reference but youre right.
How did you decide? There are so many...I have been thinking of Balliol and st Johns...though not sure at all.

Thanks for the reply, it's one of my 4 applications though, not five, unless you are including the PAT. Also, do you mind me asking what results you got since you have an offer? (e.g. GCSES, ASs, Predicted A2s and PAT)
Thanks!

The best advice is to go visit on an open day or something if you can! But before you do/if you can't, be prepared - as you said, there are a lot.

1. Make a list of colleges offering your subject. For physics this is virtually all of them! Cut out any others that don't apply to you (eg mature colleges, PPH's if those don't appeal)

2. Think of another criteria seeing as you've still got a pretty long list. It can be anything, once you've gotten past that initial stage it doesn't matter. Mine was that I wanted somewhere with good kitchen access because I'm a pretty fussy eater and I'd rather cook for myself most of the time and have that flexibility but it can be something like "I want a pretty college!". Just bear in mind you might be reallocated. If you're visiting, try and make your list pretty small at this stage - I think mine had in the region of 6 on it, and I managed to visit around 4 over the day and a half I was in Oxford plus departmental stuff and a lot of walking between places. If you're not, obviously you need to get it down to 1 eventually (or make an open application).

I chose St Hugh's over the others on my list just because I really liked it there when I visited and the short walk into town doesn't bother me!

Thank you very much for the reply, it obviously has taken you some time.
Unfortunately im unable to visit, and I just prefer to apply to a college which I think I might like than an open application even if im not sure it is the best choice...but thank you very much

Ah no problem, gives me something to do during revision breaks! Your best bet then is looking at their websites (if they have an alternative prospectus - written by the students - then that's usually useful), the student room wiki has pages on the colleges which can have lots of information on, and of course asking around on the forums

yes thank you very much, right now I was just writing which colleges offer accommodation for all years...What do you think about living out?

St Hugh's offers accommodation for all years of the course, so I won't be doing it myself... I'm guessing, as many students must do it every year, that it has to be manageable, but that's all I know really! I'd expect living in college is just easier because you don't have to worry about finding a group to live with, and spending time looking for somewhere to live in your next year.

Ah no problem, gives me something to do during revision breaks! Your best bet then is looking at their websites (if they have an alternative prospectus - written by the students - then that's usually useful), the student room wiki has pages on the colleges which can have lots of information on, and of course asking around on the forums

Oh, and one more thing, would you mind telling me what you received as an offer? I know the prospectus says A*AA for science but I heard that is only a minimum offer and I wondered how likely they were to give a much higher offer. What was your offer?

Awesome - I also want to do Law, looking to go to Christchurch, University college or Exeter College - what are your grades and what are you studying?